Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings: 4th of July Weekend

Additions to the commit list for the Maize and Blue means the rankings go on the front page. There was a ton of action across the league (plus future member and Michigan recurring opponent), with only Purdue and Indiana not grabbing any new ones.

Rivals rankings have been converted to their "RR" scale, which is on a scale from about 5 to about 6.1. Unrated prospects are given a 5.1 rating, on par with the worst of any Big Ten commit last year. Scout is on the 5-star system, and ESPN uses grades out of 100.

#1 Ohio State - 17 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Michael Bennett

DT

6.0

4

80

Braxton Miller

QB

5.9

5

84

Kenny Hayes

DE

5.9

4

78

Steve Miller

DE

5.8

5

84

Nick Vannett

TE

5.8

4

80

Brian Bobek

OL

5.8

4

79

Chase Farris

DE

5.8

4

79

Jeremy Cash

S

5.8

3

80

Evan Spencer

WR

5.7

4

81

DerJuan Gambrell

CB

5.7

4

77

Jeff Heuerman

TE

5.7

3

80

Joel Hale

DT

5.7

3

79

Chris Carter

OL

5.7

3

78

Devin Smith

WR

5.7

3

76

Ron Tanner

S

5.6

4

78

Tommy Brown

OL

5.6

3

78

Antonio Underwood

OL

5.6

3

75

Buckeyes pick up a couple highly-rated guys to stay atop the heap.

#2 Notre Dame - 12 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Ben Koyack

TE

5.9

5

81

Matt Hegarty

OL

5.9

4

83

Eilar Hardy

S

5.8

4

79

Jordan Prestwood

OL

5.7

4

80

Jarrett Grace

LB

5.7

4

78

Tony Springmann

OL

5.7

4

78

Conor Hanratty

OL

5.6

4

76

Brad Carrico

OL

5.6

3

77

Clay Burton

DE

5.6

3

79

Ben Councell

DE

5.6

3

NR

Matthias Farley

CB

5.5

3

77

Kyle Brindza

K

NR

NR

NR

Notre Dame picks up a commit and moves ahead of Nebraska on the basis of average ranking. They have a better average by all three services.

#3 Nebraska - 13 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Tyler Moore

OL

5.9

4

78

Bubba Starling

QB

5.8

4

81

Jamal Turner

QB

5.8

4

81

Ryne Reeves

OL

5.8

4

79

Ryan Klachko

OL

5.8

4

78

Tevin Mitchell

CB

5.8

3

79

Zach Sterup

OL

5.8

3

78

Kevin Williams

DT

5.7

3

79

Dylan Admire

OL

5.6

3

77

Daniel Davie

S

5.5

2

NR

Aaryn Bouzos

CB

5.4

2

76

Daimion Stafford

S

NR

3

NR

Nicklas Sade

K

NR

NR

NR

Nebraska picks up a kicker, which actually brings their ranking down to #2, as they're passed by Notre Dame. When a of their commits are ranked, they could move back ahead.

#4 Michigan - 7 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Brennen Beyer

DE

5.8

4

79

Delonte Hollowell

CB

5.8

3

79

Chris Rock

DE

5.7

3

78

Shawn Conway

WR

5.7

3

78

Greg Brown

CB

5.7

3

77

Kevin Sousa

QB

5.6

3

78

Jack Miller

OL

5.5

3

78

Michigan picks up a pair of commits, helping keep them ahead of Michigan State. Don't be surprised if Sousa ends the year much more highly-rated.

#5 Michigan State - 7 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Lawrence Thomas

LB

6.1

5

80

Connor Cook

QB

5.7

2

76

Onaje Miller

RB/Ath

5.6

4

78

Taiwan Jones

Ath/LB

5.6

3

78

AJ Sims

CB

5.6

2

78

Joel Heath

DE

NR

3

76

Paul Lang

TE

NR

2

68

Spartans pick up an under-the-radar DE in Joel Heath.

#6 Indiana - 18 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Raymon Taylor

CB

5.8

3

77

Zack Shaw

LB

5.8

2

76

Max Pirman

LB

5.6

3

78

Jake Reed

TE

5.6

3

77

Jalen Schlachter

TE

5.6

3

75

Ralston Evans

OL

5.6

3

74

Tre Roberson

QB

5.6

2

76

Nick Stoner

S

5.5

3

74

Kirk Harris

OL

5.5

2

77

Kyle Kennedy

LB

5.5

2

76

CJ Robbins

DE

5.5

2

75

Mark Murphy

S

5.5

2

NR

Kenny Mullen

CB

5.4

3

74

Mike Replogle

LB

5.4

2

74

Donte Phillips

DE

5.4

2

74

Jay McCants

WR

5.4

NR

NR

Shafer Johnson

DT

NR

2

77

Nick VanHoose

DB

NR

2

74

Hoosiers still lead the way in number of commits, but their average ratings aren't so hot.

#7 Iowa - 8 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Austin Blythe

OL

5.8

3

79

Ray Hamilton

TE

5.7

3

79

JaCorey Shepherd

WR

5.6

3

78

Jake Rudock

QB

5.6

2

78

Marcus Grant

WR

5.6

2

76

Henry Krieger-Coble

WR

5.5

NR

78

Austin Vincent

WR

NR

NR

NR

John Raymon

DE

NR

NR

NR

Iowa had a couple big days in the middle of the week, but their average rating numbers didn't do so hot. Once all their commits are ranked, they should look much better.

#8 Northwestern - 7 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Sean Cotton

S

5.7

3

79

Zack Oliver

QB

5.6

3

78

Jarrell Williams

CB

5.6

3

76

Shane Mertz

OL

5.6

3

NR

Matt Frazier

OL

5.6

2

NR

Mark Szott

TE

5.5

2

77

Max Chapman

DE

NR

NR

78

Northwestern bumped past Purdue on total commits, even though their average ratings are slightly lower. Once their guys are fully ranked, this should look better.

#9 Purdue - 5 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Russell Bellomy

QB

5.5

3

78

Robert Kugler

TE

5.5

3

78

Brandon Cottom

LB

5.5

3

76

Michael Rouse

DT

NR

3

73

Randy Gregory

DE

NR

3

NR

Purdue stays behind Iowa on the basis of fewer commits with about the same averages. They slide behind Northwestern, because the 'Cats have about the same ratings among their top 5 commits, plus two more guys.

#10 Minnesota - 6 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Tommy Olson

OL

5.7

2

79

Max Shortell

QB

5.6

3

74

Quinn Bauducco

LB

5.6

2

NR

Sam Rohr

TE

5.4

2

74

Jephete Matilus

LB

NR

2

77

Samuel Oyenuga

CB

NR

NR

NR

Another week, another as-yet-unranked commitment for the Gophers.

#11 Wisconsin - 5 Commits

Name

Position

Rivals

Scout

ESPN

Jake Keefer

LB

5.8

3

78

Sam Arneson

TE

5.7

2

78

Austin Maly

TE

5.5

2

76

Eric Steffes

TE

NR

2

NR

Derek Landisch

LB

NR

2

NR

Badgers are seriously forming a recruiting class composed entirely of tight ends and linebackers. Behind Minnesota on the basis of fewer commits with approximately equal averages.

I'd be nervous offensively, but he still hasn't shown much ability to coach up a defense. That obviously relies heavily upon assistant and position coaches, as Weiss's offenses (outside of the 3-9 season) were never the problem at ND. I think Kelly is a good coach, but scoring 30 and giving up 24 won't return ND to glory.

(like the current administration does). It shows the osu & michigan ave ranking as only 3.7 to 3.17.......but Osu has TEN 4 or 5 star committments, while michigan has ONE. Its only Osu' larger overall number of recruits (17) that makes things seem closer than they are. We better win this year, or lessor recruiting classes will be the norm, and less talent will be a self fulfilling prophecy....

Coaches evaluate talent and select guys that fit their system. Look at teams like BYU, TCU, Utah and Boise St. as far as star rankings go. They shouldn't be able to stay on the same field as the "Big Boys" yet look what Utah did to Alabama to years ago and what Bose did to Oklahoma. The rankings are purely subjective as is talent evaluation after the upper etchelon guys. Some pan out and many don't. Watched the Penn St. spring game replay last night and announcers complimented JoePa on recruiting athletes. This is RR and staff's apparent strategy. Recruit true athletes and then put them in a position that will be most advantageous to themselves and the team. Win and we will get our share of 5 stars. Until then, we will develop the athletes we have with the help of Barwis and company.

If u discount recruiting ranking, there's no reason to be posting comments on a recruiting thread. Everyone and their mother has heard the argument you employed before. Recruiting is something for fans to chat about during rhe offseason to sate our football necessity. It's just another thing to be competitive about. Everyone knows wins and losses aren't determined by your average * rankings, so please don't feel obliged to point it out. I wholeheartedly enjoy recruiting. Don't belittle it please.

If we ever go to mountain west or big sky conference, I think talking about their recruiting ranks would be relevant.

If you believe Utah will have as good a record in the next 6 years after joining the pac 10 compared to the prior 6 years with the same level of recruits, I would disagree.

It's nice to win an impressive bowl game (not saying otherwise) after 4-6 weeks of prep, but if you want to be a major conference and win week-in and week-out, you need the talent.

If you really want to see how much Michigan fans should be concerned about recruit rank, you should:

1. Only look at major conferences (SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10...)

2. Look at teams' records versus top 50 teams. I really don't care if UW beat 4 super weak non-con teams. And quite honestly, when UM is playing like a UM should, they would rarely lose to a team outside the top 50.

3. Average the prior 5 classes recruit ranks

4. See if there is a correlation b/n rank and record. And probably, more relevant to our fans, see if there's a correlation at the top end. I wouldn't care if there is no correlation for the 5th-11th rank teams. Not relevant to where UM wants to be.